Suits have been the uniform of the sophisticated man for a very long time. The most iconic male celebrities have worn them; in the early 1900’s a man would not be right without one and nowadays it’s a luxury that many want but few understand.

Many people do not know how to spot a quality suit from one of it’s cheaper knock-offs; this can be remedied by a bit of attention to detail and knowledge as to what one should be looking for. The experts over at Modern Gentleman say that there is no defining characteristic but more of a sum of elements which would determine if a suit is quality or not. Good for the metro on a budget right?

Well here is a summary of the things to look for when analyzing a suit and you can read the full article after the jump.

Canvas Suits

“Traditionally, suits are constructed by creating an inner frame work made from horse hair or a combination of wool/mohair called a canvas, the outer fabric is then attached to it by hand stitiching. The canvas was there to provide structure to the coat, and so is made from a much stiffer fabric. Over time the stiffer canvas moulds to your shape providing a perfect fit, this allows the exterior panels to hang naturally. This method is labour intensive and not suited to mass produced, high volume sales suits. All this adds up to a great indicator of a quality suit.”

Hand-sewn Button Holes

“…a good indication is HOW the button hole has been sewn. If it is machine stitched, it is likely to be perfect and uniform. If it has been hand stitched, you will be able to tell. It won’t be perfect and it will have character and be beautiful for that very reason…”

Working Buttons

“Working buttons on your sleeve cuffs have always been a sign of bespoke suit because of the extra effort involved in the construction. Often you will see people with one or two buttons undone, just to show the quality.”

Fabric/Material

“A quality suit will be made of natural materials and will not be shiny. Polyester and other synthetic man made materials are not used for quality suit facings, but you will be surprised just how many suits sold today are made from it.”

Editor’s Note: So if you look at the sum of the things used to indicate quality versus “affordable” you will see that like many things it is determined by what made it. a hand-made anything is typically more valuable than a mass-produced clone. Remember this when you are looking at a suit, and for the real detail in determining quality please check out the article quoted here: How to tell a quality suit

About Greg Dragon

Greg Dragon is the founder, publisher and editor-in-chief here at the Hall of The Black Dragon Magazine. You can follow Greg on Twitter @HobDragon or on his Google+ account. Greg Dragon is an independent author that writes a variety of novels. You can view his author page on GregDragon.com.